Collection: Elgin Museum

Collection-level records:

• Collection history (Collection development policy)

  Members of the forerunner to The Moray Society, the Elgin and Morayshire Literary and Scientific Association, were collecting objects that would form the nucleus of Elgin Museum from at least 1836. Key players from the early days were Rev. Dr George Gordon (Minister of Birnie and eclectic recorder and correspondent), John Martin (land surveyor turned teacher and first Curator), Isaac Forsyth (bookseller, librarian and first Secretary), and John Lawson (Banker and first President). Objects were stored in the Tolbooth (Town Jail) and various High Street shops until the purpose-built Museum was built in 1842, by public subscription. The designer was local architect, Thomas Mackenzie. Over the years it has had various additions increasing storage, display and office space and a Side Hall for lectures and meetings, but space is never adequate and building maintenance an ongoing challenge. The buildings are Category A listed (Listed Building no. 30714). One of the interests of the founders was the palaeontology of the district. Significant discoveries were made by them, and their collaboration with the wider geological and palaeontological world put Elgin Museum in the centre of study and of the controversies of understanding Scotland’s geology in the 19th Century. Contacts included Murchison, Geikie, T. H. Huxley, Hugh Miller, Dr John Malcolmson, Professor Agassiz, von Huene, Newton. The Museum’s fossil collection and associated archive were Recognised in 2008 and international interest continues. Significant contributions were made to the ethnographic collections by Moray people who travelled the world through commerce, public office, engagement with the East India Company and for pleasure. Our current policy is to collect only “Moray ethnography” although the earlier collections also tell the social history of Moray through the objects brought home by local travellers in the 19th Century.

  Archaeology has been another major collecting interest from the outset, including an outstanding display of recently conserved Pictish and Early Medieval Carved Stones, representing the interest of the ministers of Drainie Parish in 1855 and the 1930s, and the Dandaleith Stone allocated in 2014. In the past 20 years, the collections have seen an acceleration in acquisitions through Treasure Trove (TT), largely as a result of metal detecting and the Museum’s strategy to engage with detectorists. The changing pattern of industry and commerce locally has led to the donation of archives from a number of organisations including Watson’s saw mills and the Incorporated Trades. These have been catalogued by archivists. We continue to welcome local ephemera with provenance, brought in by individuals, thus both reinforcing a sense of engagement for the community, and providing a safe repository. Disposals in the past 5 years: Some large statues of Hindu gods (which we could neither display nor store effectively), all our rhino material (for security reasons) and some exotic butterflies (which did not fit our current policy focusing on local natural history) were donated to National Museums Scotland (NMS). Also on the advice of NMS specialists, a number of birds and butterflies, unprovenanced, unaccessioned, or unfit for display or transfer, were disposed of for curatorial reasons. Mainly unaccessioned carved stone, after specialist research identified as from Elgin Cathedral, was donated to HES. Inevitably, every item in the early Accession Books cannot be accounted for, not least given the number of natural history specimens – a category we no longer collect.

  Source: Collection development policy

  Date: 2024

  Licence: CC BY-NC

• Collection overview (Collection development policy)

  General outline of the collections

  Donations

  By far the majority of the items in the collections have been donated to The Moray Society (and its forerunners) and thus Elgin Museum, from 1836 to the present day. Examples of all categories are on display. There are approximately 36,660 items in total, spanning the following categories: Archaeology 1666 approx. Foreign ethnography 866 approx. Geology 1642 approx. Natural History 11926 approx.* Social History 20560 approx.

  * This number includes multiples of butterflies and moths. These figures are now under review because the collection is being remounted.

  Loans

  A minority of accessions (less than 0.1%) have been loaned to Elgin Museum. Current policy is that loans will be accepted only: a) For the purposes of: – temporary display – research – photography – in exceptional circumstances, such as to ensure the object’s availability for study or immediate preservation. b) In accordance with Elgin Museum’s Documentation Policies and Procedures for Loans-in, which specify fixed term agreements, no longer than 5 years. Historical loans have been researched and renewed, converted to donations, or where the lender is untraceable, converted to donations with record made of the circumstances.

  Current loans (2024):

  • i) Archive, and some other possessions, of the Rev. Dr. George Gordon of Birnie, one of the founders of Elgin Museum and a leading scholar in his day, and spanning the years 1832-1893. His correspondents included many of the geologists, natural historians and antiquarians of the day: Thomas Huxley, Charles Darwin, Roderick Murchison, Archibald Geikie. This collection is of direct relevance to much of the Museum’s collection and history, and to the history of the area. Its location is documented and the collection is therefore accessible to researchers and published as ‘George Gordon: An annotated catalogue of his scientific correspondence’ by Susan Bennett and Michael Collie (ISBN 1 85928 070 6). The family wish to retain ownership but will consider a donation in the future. L.1987.5, L.2003.36 (Gordon Family, Edinburgh) (FCR 5)
  • ii) Mounted specimens of birds, mammals and amphibians. They have been incorporated into the Natural History diorama and will be returned when no longer required. L.1988.16, .17, .19, .20 (Aberdeen University Museums) (FCR 37) L.1989.16-22 (Inverness Museum) (FCR 29)
  • iii) Rolling loan agreement with NMS of Birnie excavation material, and a spinning wheel. (FCR 45 and 46)
  • iv) Model of Saltopus elginensis and carrying case (Private owner) (FCR 39)
  • v) Cast of Leptopleuron lacertinum. Natural History Museum, London per Noemi Moran (FCR 15)
  • vi) Collection of Neolithic pottery sherds, some of which are in the archaeology display in the Rear Gallery. The Museum has the best examples on display and it has been agreed that all the items from this excavation should remain for the time being under one roof. When the display is dismantled and the sherds are no longer required the complete collection will be returned to Moray Council Museums. (FCR 27) L.1989.13 (Moray Council Museums)

  Unaccessioned material

  The Museum has a collection of handling boxes for which the objects may have been found in store or donated without provenance, or are purchased replicas. These boxes are a continuing works in progress as schools and outreach groups ask for new topics to be covered.

  The Major Collections

  Geology

  This is a mixed collection of palaeontology, mineralogy and rock specimens, mainly from Moray. The palaeontology collection and its history are described in detail in the application in February 2008 for its “Recognition” by Scottish Government as a collection of National Significance, the status granted in 2008. Original papers and correspondence are held in archival conditions. The collection comprises fossil fish from the Middle and Upper Old Red Sandstones, and fossil reptiles and trackways from the Permian sandstone, and reptiles from the Triassic sandstone, all from the local area.

  A significant area in the Museum is dedicated to their permanent display, enhanced by models and a Recognition Fund funded MRI/CT derived 3D dicynodont skull model. The fossils are of importance, not only as specimens (including type and unique specimens) but also for the part they played in the history of understanding of geology, locally and world-wide.

  Research using the collections continues, stimulated by modern methods of study on fossils that have often received little attention for 100 years. Researchers from Edinburgh, South America, Germany and Poland have been recent visitors and multinational PhD students from Bristol University. A renewal of collaboration with National Museums Scotland and the University of Edinburgh has been established. Our small Geology Group also collaborates with NatureScot and carries out regular checks in two local Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) fossiliferous quarries which still yield trace fossils and footprints, and, in 2018, a small but significant find of two fossil reptile bones; these specimens have been analysed at the University of Bristol and the findings published in the scientific literature.

  A small part of the geology collection is used solely for educational purposes and has not been accessioned. The mainly un-accessioned mineralogy and rock specimens are being assessed by the Museum’s Geology Group.

  With funding from the Recognition Fund for 2014/5, a post-doctoral palaeontologist was employed and a review of the Geology Store was carried out and its contents were catalogued and the storage rationalised. The work culminated in a wellattended conference focusing on the collection, and the Proceedings have been published.

  Natural History

  Birds and eggs: These collections have been rationalised and restored to make them more accessible and useful. A selection was then used in 2015/16 for a temporary display explaining nesting habits.

  Moths and butterflies: The collections were strong in numerical terms and visually attractive, but had suffered over time from insect and mould damage, and with little accompanying data they were of little scientific value. A volunteer is making great progress re-pinning and cataloguing a local selection in the best of the old cabinets. Again a selection has been used for a temporary display in 2017/18.

  Herbaria: There are herbaria of local plants from the 19th and 20th centuries. Molluscs: An interesting historical collection of Molluscs from the Moray Firth has been identified as made by George Gordon. It has been documented and can be associated with the letters in the Gordon Archive and Gordon’s list in the ‘Zoologist’ (1854).

  Miscellaneous: there are a few exotic natural history items, and items of skeletal material. All rhino material was donated to NMS in 2013.

  Display: The principle permanent display is a woodland diorama from 1989; some of the birds are on display in the Victorian study as exemplars of the early collections.

  Social History

  This is a large collection of some 20,000 pieces, mainly drawn from the Moray area. The displays in the Front Gallery in the “People and Place” exhibition (2003), and the Rear Hall “Victoriana” display (2008), draw particularly from this group. There are examples in the categories: domestic and laundry, kitchenware, tableware, ornamental, lighting, handicraft, recreation, society and law, education, religion, working life, transport, agriculture.

  Costume & Textiles

  The costume collection consists of approximately 200 pieces of male, female and children’s clothing and personal accessories from the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. The pieces are generally in good condition and there are some interesting local items. There is a textile collection consisting of approximately 30 items, including linen made in Elgin and several dated samplers made mainly by local girls in the 19th century.

  Arms and Armour

  There are some 100 items in this group including swords including a Samurai sword, targes, powder horns and flasks, pistols and Scottish weaponry. Three items have links with Culloden. This collection is the subject of ongoing research through a volunteer with specialist knowledge and contacts.

  Documents and Ephemera

  This collection consists of approximately 800 miscellaneous items relating to the people and towns of Elgin and Moray including maps. A very valuable archive of some 1300 letters associated with one of the Museum’s founders, Rev. Dr George Gordon (L1987.5 and L2003.36) is of international significance. The history of the Museum is well documented with accession registers, minutes, letters, visitor books and other ephemera dating from around 1836 to the present day.

  The Watson Papers

  This is a collection of approximately 6,000 bills and letters, relate to Watson’s Sawmills in Elgin and date from the late nineteenth century. The letters refer to a wide range of topics of social interest such as shipbuilding, railways, and domestic buildings. We also hold the important papers of the Grants of Wester Elchies (1788-1922) – subjects include life in India, including the Indian Mutiny, and letters from the Front in World War I. Both collections have been catalogued and stored in archival conditions, as have the papers of the Incorporated Trades of Elgin. Many of the objects in the collection have related papers filed in Object History Files.

  Photographs

  The collection includes a variety of photographs, negatives and postcards of local people and places. There are some 200-glass negatives donated by a local photographic studio. A few of these have prints to correspond. The collection has been recorded and sorted into acid free boxes. These photographs can be scanned. There is a small collection of aerial photographs of Moray from different sources, and several thousand negatives from a local photographer, Tony Spring (Studio Tyrell).

  Numismatics

  This comprises a miscellaneous collection of British, Scottish and foreign coins. There is also a representative collection of British trade tokens, Scottish communion tokens and commemorative and military medals, some of which relate to people of the area. Roman silver coins from Birnie, near Elgin, are on loan and part of a rolling display (after conservation and research) from National Museums Scotland or were allocated to Elgin Museum by Treasure Trove if found before formal excavation at Birnie. Similar coins have been found by metal detectorists in other areas of Moray including Clarkly Hill and allocated by Treasure Trove.

  Fine Art

  There is a small collection of drawings, engravings, lithographs, oil and watercolour paintings and a few pieces of sculpture. A set of John Henning Parthenon miniatures is on permanent display with two John Henning original drawings, the latter gifted by Lord Elgin. The Etta Sharp Collection, donated in 1947, is a small but fine collection of 49 paintings representative of the development of the English watercolour tradition from the late 18th century until the early 20th century. They form an important part of the Museum art collection, and include works by significant artists such as Turner, Constable, Varley, Cox, Brabazon, Flint, Grimm, and Rowlandson.

  Archaeology

  The archaeology collection consists of Scottish, British and foreign material, although the majority is Scottish and from Moray. This collection is the other main strength of the Museum in addition to the Palaeontology. Our Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology 2017 events culminated in a very well-attended conference focusing on recent excavations in Moray and the Proceedings have been published. We are fortunate in our active contacts with leaders in the field of Scottish archaeology, in particular with NMS and the Society Of Antiquaries’ Covesea Caves project. There are some very good artefacts representing Moray’s past, many of which are on display. They span the Mesolithic, Neolithic, Bronze Age, Iron Age and Viking periods. There is also an excellent collection of Pictish, early Christian and Medieval stone carvings. The catalogue of our Pictish stones from Kinneddar and Burghead was first published in 2009. In 2014 a new and significant Pictish stone, the Dandaleith stone, was allocated by Treasure Trove, and the Medieval carved stones display reimagined with mainly HLF funding and a 2nd edition of the catalogue published.

  Our display of finds from the NMS excavations at Birnie, and on loan from NMS, represents just one strand of our longstanding association with the archaeologists in NMS. They have also collaborated over the years with identification, interpretation and speaking at our regular conferences.

  Over the past 50 years, we have been allocated various assemblages from local excavations. Some of these have been fully documented, or published by the excavators, but a rolling programme is in place to complete accessioning, with the assistance of Aberdeenshire Council Archaeology Service, with whom we have a close working relationship.

  Foreign archaeology consists of some Greek and Roman pieces collected in the Mediterranean and in Britain and a collection of pre-Spanish pottery excavated by Dr James Cooper Clark, from Moray, when on British Government expeditions to Central America, Peru and Belize in 1913 and 1928.

  The Museum continues to enjoy good relations with local metal detectorists, and local activity has increased exponentially. This has created a significant workload, processing finds brought into the Museum to be forwarded to Treasure Trove. However, this is the only way to keep informed of finds in our area and thus an overview of new archaeology. An interesting collection of Treasure Trove items has been claimed from their finds. The Museum bids for these items where appropriate and recently found items are on display in the Museum.

  Foreign ethnography

  This collection consists of an interesting collection of foreign artefacts brought home by travellers from Moray. There are some 800 items, representing the human history of many countries, including India, China, Japan, Pacific Islands, South-East Asia and North and South America.

  Books, offprints, museum catalogues

  The Museum has a non-lending Library. There is a small collection of books and pamphlets which were acquired and/or written by members of the Elgin and Morayshire Literary Association (the forerunner of The Moray Society). There are offprints of many articles referring to research, especially on the palaeontological specimens and miscellaneous modern reference books and maps. There is also a good collection of 19th and early 20th century reference books such as the complete Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland (PSAS), local history books, George Gordon’s bound copies of ‘The Zoologist’ and Ray Society Monographs, early geology books and Spalding Club Volumes. There are also some novels with Moray connections.

  Human remains

  The principal human remains in the collection are of considerable interest to the public, and, with the exception of the shrunken head from Ecuador, all are on permanent display – the mummified Peruvian remains are respectfully behind a removable curtain with a folder explaining both how she came to the Museum and her importance to the native peoples of Peru. We have three Iron Age cervical vertebrae showing evidence of beheading, from the Sculptor’s Cave, Covesea. All of these cited examples of human remains have been published in 21st century university dating and research programmes, and the results are presented adjacent to the displays.

  Scottish silver

  We have 11 items of Elgin silver, including the John Shanks snuff box, and in addition, 2 silver makers’ punches. Recent donations are a cowrie shell and silver snuff box, and a 3-part (un-matched) tea service. We have one piece each from Edinburgh, Banff and Aberdeen. A new donation is a very fine Edinburgh tea-service comprising teapot, milk jug, and sugar bowl presented to a 19th Century deputy Sheriff Principle when he left the capital to take up his appointment in Elgin.

  Source: Collection development policy

  Date: 2024

  Licence: CC BY-NC